Michael and Susan Dell represented Austin billionaires well at No. 18 on the Forbes list, with $100 million in giving.
Photo courtesy of UT Austin

A slew of Texas business leaders and philanthropists made it onto Forbes' newly released list of America's 50 Top Givers, further solidifying our state as one of the most philanthropic in the nation.

Fort Worth's Alice Walton and the rest of the Wal-Mart heirs came in at No. 5, with $432 million in charitable giving for 2012. That brings the Walton family lifetime total to a whopping $4.6 billion in donations. The Walton's favorite charities are education foundations, to which they donated $160 million last year.

Houston made a strong showing on the list, with a handful of exceptionally charitable residents, including John and Laura Arnold (No. 12 with $204 million donated) and Texans owner Robert McNair and his wife, Janice (No. 29 with $50.3 million donated).

Michael and Susan Dell represented Austin billionaires well at No. 18. The couple chipped in $100 million in 2012, most of which went to establish a new medical school at the University of Texas.